It’s been exactly 600 days since the last Harry Potter flick (Goblet of Fire) hit theaters — not that this diehard fan has been counting or anything — so needless to say, anticipation for today’s release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenixhas been higher than a Mariah Carey glory note. Making things even more interesting, the franchise gets a new director (David Yates) and screenwriter (Contact’s Michael Goldenberg), who face the tall order of bringing the longest Potter book (896 pages) to the big screen, whilestaying true to the words of J.K. Rowling. EW’s own Lisa Schwarzbaum calls Yates a "shrewd choice" in her B+ review of the flick (click here to read it); here’s what other critics around the nation have to say, and be sure tolet your fellow PopWatchers know what you think once you’ve seen it for yourself.
Colin Bertram, New York Daily News: "In previous Potter movies, nonessential story lines and silly character setpieces added little but minutes to the film’s running time. Here, British directorDavid Yates (TV’s Sex Traffic and The Girl in the Cafe)keeps the subplots, the oversentimentality (most notably in a crucial deathscene) and regular supporting cast (Emma Thompson, Maggie Smith, RobbieColtrane, Alan Rickman) firmly in check."
David Germain, The Associated Press: "Director David Yates and screenwriter MichaelGoldenberg deliver the shortest Potter movie yet, though Order of thePhoenix is the longest novel at 800-plus pages. The movie gains inmomentum but loses a lot of the fun and wonder of previous installments.Granted, the stories grow gloomier as Harry’s ultimate challenge approaches inbook seven, but he has faced doom and death before and still managed to have agood time.”
Christopher Kelly,Star-Telegram: "Even grading on a curve, this new movieturns out to be a near disaster. Director David Yates (The Girl in the Cafe) andscreenwriter Michael Goldenberg (Contact)– both newcomers to the franchise — have no handle on Rowling’s shapelessnarrative. They merely give in to the sprawl. The result is talky, tedious and –if you haven’t recently read Phoenix — nearly impossible to follow."
Desson Thomson, WashingtonPost: "Screenwriter Michael Goldenberg and director David Yates (aBritish filmmaker with a television background) have transformed J.K. Rowling’sgarrulous storytelling into something leaner, moodier and more compelling, thatticks with metronomic purpose as the story flits between psychological darknessand cartoonish slapstick."
Mary F. Pols, Contra Costa Times: "We certainly want freshenergy brought to each film, but at the same time, there needs to be acontinuity beyond just the actors and the setting. Reading Rowling’s books,we’re not thinking, oh, now this one should feel like a David Lynch film whilethat earlier one was really a family picture. On the page, they are all part ofthe universe of Harry Potter, a universe we’ve all been rather pleased with,apparently. But on the screen, the stories, now in their fourth set of hands,feel uncomfortably fractured. Thank heavens for books."
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: "Yates and his team handle the film’s visuals well, including theimpressive sets for the atrium of the Ministry of Magic and its Hall ofProphecy, as well as fine flying sequences involving either broomsticks or equinecreatures called Thestrals. The director also works well with the film’sjuvenile leads, which is important, because these are the raging hormone yearsat Hogwarts School, and that is especially true where Harry isconcerned."
Brian Orndorf, dvdtalk.com:“Yates pulls a much more profound performance out of Radcliffe in afeature that rests entirely on the young actor’s shoulders. It helps that he’sworking with the absolute best English talent (Michael Gambon, Jason Issacs,and Fiennes are all outstanding), but Yates is digging a little deeper than hispredecessors ever could. He’s working with a plot that doesn’t cause a dramaticearthquake, but instead seethes and builds to a terrific sense of future war."
Mike Russell, The Oregonian: “In this fifth story, ourwizard hero Harry spends a lot of time brooding over what happened in ChapterFour — and no one believes him when he says things are, in fact, about to gostraight to heck. This puts Order of the Phoenix in a difficult, in-between place, asauthor J.K. Rowling lines up her dramatic chess pieces and builds a sense ofdread. Fortunately, the filmmakers (director David Yates and scenarist MichaelGoldenberg) understand this, and respond by focusing on Rowling’s characters(and small moments between them) to a degree that’s unprecedented in the movieseries. With its long, character-driven setup and gleefully loopy ending, Order of the Phoenix is a strangely relaxed and frequently funny installment. To mythinking, it stands right behind Harry Potter and the Prisoner ofAzkaban as the best in the movie series.”
Josh Larsen, Sun-Times News Group: “Goblet of Fire, particularly, left me exhausted. The effects wereoverwhelming and the narrative was beginning to slip beyond my grasp. Yet Orderof the Phoenix — streamlined, psychological, dare I sayreserved? — wooed me back. It’s as if the series has paused to rest, lay offthe magic a bit and prepare for its final, two-film push.”
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Many will disagree, but I think this one is probably my favorite Potter film. The performance from the actress who played Luna Lovegood was a scene-stealer. And I’m glad they didn’t overplay _____’s death scene. Though it seemed like Harry was much more emotionally drained over Cedric’s death in the last movie than of _____’s death in this movie, which I find kind of odd because Harry hardly knew Cedric. But Daniel Radcliffe did give a great peformance in this film, and I think it’s probably his best yet [same gos for Rupert Grint].
I went to the press screening Monday night, and I was super duper shocked, we were asked to leave our Cell phones in the car! My friend who was coming with me from work, was running late & I have to admit I was like, ok, well now I gotta stand out by the ticket taker waiting for him, since I can’t even bring in my cell phone! Anyways, I’m thinking, is this movie really going to be WORTH all this?? Esp. since I have never read a printed page of Potter lore. I kept hearing this was going to be the darkest movie of them all, but I still feel The Goblet of Fire was a bit darker than Order of the Phoenix. Imelda Staunton was probably in more of the movie than even Daniel Radcliffe, if you can even imagine such wizardry, but overall I feel satisfied & I did enjoy the climactic showdown at the Ministry of Magic. I’m glad I have time to wait for the Half-Blood Prince movie instead of the fans counting down the days to next week’s finale in the Deathly Hollows.
Did these reviewers see the same film? The scope of the reviews are far afield of each other in many cases.
OMG a world without cell phones? How will anyone ever survive?
This is probably my favorite film so far. I just saw it last night. The movie looked visually stunning and this movie reminded me of what the Empire Strikes Back was for the Star Wars movie franchise. In that, this movie is the middle and is setting up what will happen later on in the last two movies. For what it was, it was brilliant. I also enjoyed the subtle foreshadowing of Harry/Ginny and I also smiled at the chemistry between Rupert Grint and Emma Watson. Yates is a brilliant choice and I am glad that he will do the 6th.
to To Phil. My friend was stuck in traffic trying to get to the theater which was in the suburbs, half hour outside of the city. By asking me to leave my cellphone in my car, I could not call him to check on his progress, while I had to stand at the ticket taker with HIS ticket & could not sit down in the theater or SAVE seats. I don’t care that much about my cellphone, but it was a bit of a burden since I was waiting on someone else. Please get a clue.
I honestly thought it was the best film yet. Capturing the spirit of the books is important, and J.K took a dark turn in book three, and with each book, Harry get’s darker. The first two films were fluff, the third pretty dark, and then I think the fourth just missed that tone. Bravo for bringging the darkness back, and trimming the fat of the store down to a really strong piece.
A lot better then the unbalanced Goblet of Fire movie last year. One of the better ones and loved a little bit of the foreshadowing like Ginny looking at Harry and putting Kreacher in.
to all those that saw the movies and read the books: what was cut out?
If you thought this was the best film, you are not alone. I went to the 800+ seating Uptown in DC, and that was the general impression from the crowd outside. It’s the first in the series to truly feel like a movie. Cutting out major subplots but still keeping a sleek story was well done. I especially liked the Sirius-Harry not-in-the-book conversation.
I loved this film! I definately think if you’ve never read the books you’d be completely lost because there’s a lot that goes unexplained and of course most subplots are cut out, but the main point of the fifth book was to show Harry preparing for battle and his final showdown, and I felt the movie did that very well.
Just saw the movie last night. Definitely my favorite so far (although I enjoyed #3 very much as well). All of the performances were outstanding. I was especially surprised with Dan Radcliffe, who I believe has grown tremendously as an actor since Goblet of Fire.
When it comes to Harry Potter, I don’t bother with critics opinions anymore. By all accounts, the Prisoner of Azkaban was the most critically acclaimed HP movie. But while it is my favorite book, I thought it was the worst of the four movies so far. Mostly because there were too many important details to the series, even if small, that were taken out for the sake of “artistry”. While I don’t mind the directors taking some artistic license and I understand these books are too long to include everything, I think they need to stay true to not only the story but also the small, sometimes trivial “diversions” that help to make the world of Harry Potter so wonderful.
In any case, I’m seeing this on Sunday and can’t wait!!!
Thank you for not posting Roger Ebert’s ignorant “I want kiddy fluff” review.
So as not to ruin anything for anyone (spoilers, n such) the good folks over at Mtv.com have provided a detailed list of what has been left out in the transfer from page to the big screen. Enjoy!!!
http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1564401/20070710/story.jhtml
What a strange collection of reviews. Many are very negative. Many are glowing. And many are very much in the order of…”meh.” The last review referenced makes me hopeful. GOF made me tired, too. And small moments between characters — give me more! Right behind POA as the best film — pretty glowing review, in my opinion. All that said, the reviews have been so jarringly contradictory that I am very eager to see what this thing really looks and feels like. Oh, the joy of anticipation!
Best. Potter. Yet.
More Bellatrix, Nymphadora, and Kreacher, if you please!
While I didn’t agree with all of the reviews, I do think that this was probably the best movie, if not tied with the third movie. The fourth one was good, but I liked this and the third better. And yes, things are left out of every movie (I won’t say what for this movie for spoiler-reasons), but YOU HAVE TO GO INTO THE MOVIE THEATER WITH AN OPEN MIND. It’s a movie. It’s not the book. If it were the exact same, where would be the fun? And if it were as long as the book, when would you be able to take a bathroom break? HP:OotP was a GREAT film, very dark and moody, just like the book, and yea some of the parts left out made me sad, but overall, great film. And finally, some great acting from the kdis. LOVED Luna. Just as I’d picture her. And the twins? Splendid.
I just got back from seeing it–and I have to say that I loved this movie!! The visuals were amazing, and I have to agree with some that the acting has improved from the last films. They did leave a lot out, but I don’t think the film suffered for it–in fact, any longer and I think it would have just dragged (Pirates 3 anyone?) It hit all major plot points, and was a great setup for the final films. I am already starting my countdown for HBP.
I thought it was the best one too!!! I loved it – I was captivated…yes captivated! – from the get go, and even though I knew what was going to happen, I was still excited. Dolores Umbridge is as wretchedly awful as I expected, and I LOVED Luna Lovegood! Adorable. Everyone was great. Yay Harry!!!!
I was worried about this film because the fifth book is my favorite, but I was very impressed. Easily the best film so far. They really streamlined and focused the story more than any other film did, but in doing so even though they cut a lot out, you didn’t really miss it. Very impressive. The set design was amazing.
I thought it was an amazing film, one of the best I’ve seen this year (just behind Knocked Up and Ratatouille).
My grades would be:
1. Prisoner of Azkaban : A
2. Order of the Phoenix : A-
3. Goblet of Fire : B+
4. Sorceror’s Stone : B-
5. Chamber of Secrets : C+
Best film of the series, juuuust edging out Prisoner of Azkaban. Bravo to David Yates for doing an amazing job with a dark book.
I thought they did a great job with keeping to the book, even with small things like Kreacher and the family tree, things that could have been excised without a problem. I enjoyed all the acting – the kids are getting better and better, although I thought that Rupert Grint and Emma Watson should have had more to do. Glad that they bolstered the role of Neville. And Daniel Radcliffe is getting to be quite a good actor. Above all, it registered Harry’s anger that seethed through the whole book (and the part I didn’t like about the book) but it didn’t make the move so very angry. I think it’s up there with Prisoner of Azkeban. 1) Prisoner, 2) Order, 3) Goblet, 4) Chamber, 5) Sorcerer’s. Honestly, the movies are getting so good now, it’s a shame that the first two weren’t that good.
I think the new screenwriter made all the difference. The dialoge was more natural, the characters were less cardboard, and an immensely complicated storyline was made probably as easy to follow as can be expected when cramming 800+ pages into 2.25 hours. Still prefer Azkaban, but this one is close!
Daniel Fidler, I haven’t seen the most recent movie, but you’ve graded all the others exactly as I would. I’m very excited to see “Phoenix” now.
I’m on the fence about the movie, but not because of the directing or writing. I just did one of the worst things you can do and re-read the book before seeing the movie. I still enjoyed it loads, but couldn’t turn off the thoughts of what was left out/different. I’m going to see it again, though.
I personally loved the movie. Granted, I had not read the book in a while, but I felt like the screenwriters kept in most of the parts I wanted to see included, which I can not say for most of the other Potter movies. I thought the sets were beautiful and the cast was wonderful. The only special effect I was less than enamored with was the rendering of Grawp, but that’s really a minor complaint. I especially loved Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange, and Luna was good too. I actually thought that given how dark the book is, the movie did have some fun in parts, and I personally like the darker mood. I don’t think that most of us want to see another sappy kid movie like Sorcerer’s Stone. I can’t wait to see the Half-Blood Prince movie!
I wasn’t that impressed with OotP as a piece of Cinema. I thought it felt rushed and at times just hitting plot points with no real feeling or emotion. However, one of my favorite parts of the book was when Harry gets possessed by Voldy in the Ministry, and I felt that moment was really well done. That said, I’d jump for joy to see Alfonso Cuaron come back and direct the last one. Oh, and Carter was fantastic as Bella!
I agree with what a lot of people are saying about the acting. I’ve generally just focused on how the movies compare to the books in the past, but I did actually notice how great of a job Daniel Radcliffe did in this one. He really delivered, and it makes me even more excited for the next two.